About Omentielva

We use Omentielva, followed by the appropriate Quenya ordinal, as the short name for each International Conference on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Invented Languages, part of a series of biennial conferences at changing locations.

Omentie was the Quenya word Tolkien used for ‘meeting’ in the familiar Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo!  in The Fellowship of the Ring. Later he refined its meaning to ‘meeting between two parties’. Here it can in this sense refer to, say, the meeting between those who arrange and those who join. Or each participant may view himself as one party vis-à-vis the rest of the conference. In any case, at this conference scholars from many countries will meet, every two years, and discuss for several days.

Everyone with a serious interest in Tolkien’s invented languages is invited to participate, and encouraged to prepare, bring, and deliver a paper on any aspect of Tolkien’s languages. The programme consists of listening to and discussing the papers; as well as meeting each other, breaking bread together, and generally enjoying each other’s company. You do not need to deliver a paper to attend, nor do you need to attend to send a paper (we will certainly find someone to read it for you).

The first conference was held at the University of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2005. The second conference will be at Lessius Hogeschool in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2007. If you are interested in hosting the 2009 conference, please contact Bill Welden.

The proceedings of these conferences will be published in a special series, Arda Philology. The volume from the first conference will appear in 2007 and be distributed to all who registered, as a benefit of membership, and (as available, at a price yet to be determined) to all other interested parties. Our intention is that it be stimulating and insightful enough to show up on the reference shelf of every serious scholar of Tolkien.